Technical Workshop

Women in Aeronautics & Astronautics

(WIAA)

Presented by:

Elena Shrestha

SolidWorks CAD

Inspiration

Prototype

CAD

SolidWorks CAD

• 2-D and 3-D sketch tools

• Functions Used:

– Extrude (boss, cut)

– Revolve

– Fillet

– Thicken

– Boundary

– Surface (extend, fill)

SolidWorks Layout

• Can create part, assembly (of

parts), or 2-D engineering

drawing

• Note that you are easily able to

access all SolidWorks tutorials

Panel will show all

sketches and features

applied to the part

Manipulate view of

environment and part

CAD Basics

• Let’s look at ‘Extrusion Boss/Base’ and ‘Extruded

Cut’ features

• Sketch a circle in the [right plane] with radius: 1”

• [Feature] -> [Extrusion Boss] and select the

option [blind] by 1” to make a cylinder

(1) Let’s sketch the fish skeleton

• Select the [sketch] option in the [sketch]

toolbar

• Select the right plane

• Draw an ellipse using [ellipse] tool

– Center on (0,0)

– Move cursor to top of origin frame to create

ellipse reference point for R1

• In the left panel, enter dimensions:

R1 = 1”, R2 = 0.85” and click green arrow

• Click the [Right Plane] in the left panel

• Create another plane to draw ellipse by selecting

[sketch] -> [plane]

• In the left panel, enter dimension: 1.5” and click

green arrow to create the new plane

(2) Let’s sketch the fish skeleton

What we are doing is creating

ellipses at these points to shape

the fish body

NOTE: You can update sketch (rebuild) by clicking on the traffic light tool up top

• Draw an ellipse with dimensions:

R1 = 0.65”, R2 = 0.65”

• In reverse direction, create new plane 2” away

from your current plane and draw an ellipse with

dimensions: R1 = 0.90”, R2 = 0.85”

• Finally, in reverse direction, create another plane

2” away and draw an ellipse with dimensions:

R1 = 0.50”, R2 = 0.40” (ellipse near fish tail)

(3) Let’s sketch the fish skeleton

(4) Let’s 3D sketch the fish skeleton

• Drop down in the [sketch] tool and

select the [3D Sketch] option

• Next select the [spline] tool

and click on the sides of the

ellipses to connect them all

• [Features] -> [Boundary Boss/Base] to fill the fish

skeleton

– Click on all four ellipses in sequence

(5) Sketch the fins

• Highlight [front plane] from left panel and [sketch]

– Use the [spline] tool to sketch the top and bottom fins

using the [right plane] skeleton point as reference

FRONT

Spline tool lets you adjust

the line after you have

already drawn it

You can also make the

fins using 3D sketch to

give it an angle and make

it look more realistic!

(6) 3D Fins

• Drop down select [insert] -> [surface] -> [planar]

and select any fin

•

• [insert] -> [thicken] and select each fin.

– Make the thickness 0.05”

(7) Sketch the fish head

• First, create an [extruded cut] on the fish body

with radius 0.40” [up to surface] of third plane

and another cut of radius 0.20” on the last plane

• Revolve requires a reference line so lets sketch

one that is 1” long on the [right plane]

• Sketch a horizontal line that is 0.55”

and then use the [spline] tool to

create an arc

(8) Almost done…

• Then create an [extruded cut] of 0.4” [blind]** on

the fish head

• Similarly for the eyes, sketch a [circle] at origin on

[front plane] with radius 0.05” and fully [extrude

cut] in both directions

• The tail for this workshop will be directly

connected to the body

• [New part] -> sketch an ellipse on the [right plane]

- Dimensions: R1 = 0.50”, R2 = 0.40”

(9) Fish tail

• Extrude the ellipse by 0.7”

• Cut a circle of radius 0.20” to

match with body

– [Blind] of 0.5”

• Select the [fillet] tool and click

on the lines of the outer ellipse

– Use radius of

• Let’s make a slot for tail. Extrude cut

a rectangle by 0.3” with:

– Width: 0.2” (0.1” from 0,0)

(10) Fish tail

• Now we are going to draw the

tail on the [front plane]

– Use the [spline] tool to sketch

your tail

– Make sure the arc intersects the

centerline

• Use [surface planar] and

[thicken] tools to make it 3D

– Thicken by 0.1”

Assembly!

• [File] -> [New] -> [Assembly]

• Main tools are

– Insert components

– Mate

• Select the back plane of the

fish head and select [Mate] and

then select the front plane of the fish body

– Repeat on the inner circular boundary of both

head and body

• Select the front plane of the

– Insert components

– Mate

Finished assembly

Let’s add custom textures!

• Right click the body and select [appearance]

– Click on [face] to change just the skin

• [Tools] -> [Option] -> [File location]

– Drop down and select [Textures]

to change path of files

– Add new location (ex. \Desktop)

• Apply custom texture

Rendering

• SolidWorks has a

rendering tool already

include in installation

– Edit scene

– Add decals

– Change render quality